10 Months.....

Well the kids have been with us for 10 months now. We decided to sign Kristina up for cheerleading with the football organization that I have been coaching with for the last 20 years. Its a great program and this is the first year that they were having an 8 year old cheer team. We felt that it would be a great way for Kristina to socialize and for her to use and build on her new English vocabulary. We were somewhat unsure of how quick she would pick up on the cheers, boy were we suprised. The team has a total of 75 cheers they have to learn and they have learned about 40 in the last three weeks. Saturday was their first game. They did about 25 different cheers and their halftime routine for us. Kristina did awesome! She knew all the cheers and movements and was shouting out the english words. Here is some video.....

PS...Kristina is in the Front row in the middle of this video. She is the one with the brown hair....

Another First...

Well Saturday we had a birthday party to go to. The kids "cousin" Brian was turning 8 and his mom was throwing him a party at the bowling alley. Kristina asks...."What's Bowling dad?" I explained that it was a game where you throw a ball at pins and get points for how many you knock down. She says "Oh OK" with a puzzled look on her face. So off to the bowling alley we go...Of course no one else there understands that the kids have no idea what bowling is. Someone says..."come on let's get you your shoes..." John points at his feet and sayS..."I have my shoes on!"...LOL! So they get their shoes on and find a couple of light balls and away we go...They had a blast. Of course, we put the bumpers up and there was a boys lane and a girl lane...man did they have fun! Here are the pics...

How cool is that?

Keegan gets to play his first Varsity Football game at Soldier Field in Chicago. Home of the 1985 Superbowl Champs, Chicago Bears. How cool is that? He gets to play on the same field as my all time favorite football player and childhood hero, Walter Payton. Keegan we are so super proud of you! Go Providence Celtics!

FRUA Picnic

Hi all I know its been a while since I/we have blogged. Not a whole lot has been going on. The kids continue to do great and their English continues to improve while their vocabulary expands. They both have taken to swimming and love to spend as much time as possible in the water. Of course mom and dad are learning how to deal with raising siblings. Sunday we went to the annual Illinois FRUA (Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption) picnic. We had a great time catching up with some of the families that we have met over the last couple of years at the groups events. The picnic was held at a beautiful park in West Dundee, Illinois that has a petting zoo, playgrounds and picnic grove. Below are pics of the kids feeding the animals in the petting zoo. A couple of pictures of the kids posing for the group picture of all of the adopted children and then a group photo of all of the adopted kids. There was plenty of authentic Russian and Eastern European food served and a great time was had by all.

Where to start.....

John with Donald Duck at Magic Kingdom - First Character Sighting.

Kristina with Donald Duck at Magic Kingdom - First Character Sighting.

John as a pirate after going to "The Pirate League" in Magic Kingdom. His pirate name was Davey Whalebones. He was a little unsure of it all but in the end was a real trooper. Still today he will put on the earring that he got and call himself a pirate.

Kristina after going to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Magic Kingdom to turn her into a princess. We already think she is a princess but this way everybody knew she was. She had a blast and since we have been home she has wanted to put the makeup on over and over again.

Lunch at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom on 06/13/2010. This is our favorite place to eat and see the characters. Piglet just so happens to be Keegan's favorite.

Tigger & I at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom on 06/13/2010. Tigger is my favorite!

Kenny and Goofy in the Magic Kingdom on 06/18/2010. Goofy just so happens to be Kenny's favorite. A lot of people have been asking which one is goofier? I will leave that up to you!

The whole group of us at Typhoon Lagoon. That is Keegan's best friend Danny with us in the picture, he made the trip with us and had a blast also!

As you can see from the pictures above we went to Disney World for vacation. We waited for school to be out for all three of our kids. Keegan made the honor roll again. Way to go Keegan! Kristina was promoted to the second grade. Way to go Kristina! We took off in our motor home on 06/11/2010. We arrived safely in Disney on 06/12. Kenny did all of the driving and did a great job. We stopped Friday night just outside of Chattanooga Tennessee so he could rest up. We got up bright and early and continued on our way. We arrived at the Fort Wilderness Campground safe and sound and got all set up and then went to get our tickets from the Shades of Green (Military Hotel). We were unable to get a room there because they were full but we were able to use Kenny's military discount to get a great deal on tickets.

We went to all four parks and both of the water parks. The kids had a blast and were real troopers. The kids tried all the rides that they could - John could not ride the Rock N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios but they rode everything else. The big boys did Mission Space, the adults and the little ones sat out on that one. The kids, Kenny and I were in line for Test Track at Epcot but got rained out instead. There were a few moments on some of the rides that the kids did not like but they never said no they would not go on another ride. The kids favorite ride is Haunted Mansion. A close second is Splash Mountain. They loved the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon and didn't want to leave when it started to rain. The parks were open late on certain nights and we stayed as long as we could - some nights until after midnight. As a matter of fact, our last night there (06/18) Magic Kingdom was open until 3AM and we stayed until 2:30AM. The kids didn't want to leave - not just the little ones but the big kids too.

Since we have been home............

John's T-ball season has come to an end. He ended up liking it and doing quite well at it.

The kids have been home for eight months (on the 28th of June).

Kenny got a new car so now Keegan has a new car (Kenny's old car).

Keegan has started varsity football practice at high school.

Kristina has gotten her own room and loves having it all to herself.

We have a new great niece - Welcome Erika Nicole Strohm!

The kids have been swimming daily and getting really good at it.

In the next couple of weeks........

Kristina will be starting with her tutor.

John will be going to the dentist, doctor, and eye doctor to get physicals for kindergarten.

The kid's will celebrate their first 4th of July in the USA.

We will welcome another great niece.

We will take the kids to their first NASCAR race.

Attend the FRUA picnic.

I'm sure so much more has happened and will happen, so we will keep you informed as to how life is with The Duda Family of Five!

So until later..................Happy 4th of July to you all! Stay Safe! Enjoy the fireworks and all the festivities!

Gramma and Grampa

Well the kids have bonded to my mom and stepdad very well. They look forward to visiting G & G when ever we bring it up and we sometimes get unsolicited requests to go visit too. Of course the toy bin and candy bowl are highlights of their visit there. G & G came to Elwood last week to watch John's T-ball game. I used Papa Harry's camera to snap this picture after the game.

The big 16!

Let the singing begin!!!!

" Hey big brother, was I not suppose to help you blow out the candles?"

Keegan turned 16 on May 27th. He got his driver's license on May 28th. We had a family party for him on May 30th! He took his last final on June 2nd. We actually have a Junior in High School now. WOW!!! Where has the time gone? He starts practicing VARSITY football on Monday. Who would have thought? Keegan continues to amaze us every day. We look forward to what the next year will bring him.

He took to the big brother role without any hesitation. He enjoys being with the kids and hangs out with them as much as possible. Now that he is done with school for the summer he is looking forward to playing with them as much as possible.

We love you Keegan! We are super proud of you and all of your accomplishments! Keep up the good work!